What the big vendors should concentrate on, says Johnson, issafeguarding their relationship with their customers, not protectingnext week's sales.

Vendors are beginning to get this to varying degrees. IBM's GlobalFinancing division, which includes both leasing and used sales,accounted for 10 percent of IBM's 2001 profits. Forty percent ofHewlett-Packard's Financial Services division revenue last year camefrom the secondary market. Dell's revenue from used gear went fromzero in 1999 to $200 million last year. Cisco set up the CiscoAuthorized Refurbished Equipment (CARE) program in 2000. But unlikeDell, HPHP and IBM, Cisco does not maintain a storefront on eBay, whichthose vendors use as a primary marketing channel. And a Ciscospokesperson says, "We do not see the used market as significant interms of its impact on our business." Alles zu HP auf CIO.de

The Vendors [part 2] - learning tolove the secondary market

Selling used gear may seem to be at odds with being the originalmanufacturer, but maybe it's an opportunity," says John Sheaffer, CEOof Westmont, Ill.-based Sysix, which sells both new and used gear."Hey, margin is margin. Money is what matters. Like it or not, thismarket is in play."

Irv Rothman gets it. "If you don't control the secondary market foryourself, someone else will," says Rothman, CEO of HP FinancialServices. "And they will use your equipment against you."